Athens News Agency: News in English, 08-09-06

CONTENTS

Prime Minister Costas Karamanlis officially inaugurated the 73rd
Thessaloniki International Fair (TIF) on Saturday morning and then
toured the pavilions and exhibition site after a blessing service.

Visiting the development ministry pavilion he saw a robot displayed by
the Research and Technology Foundation, while at the education ministry
pavilion he was shown one of the 5,000 laptops distributed to students
by Education Minister Evripidis Stylianidis.

At Thessaloniki municipality's pavilion, Mayor Vassilis
Papageorgopoulos handed the premier a resolution with the demands of
various bodies in the city.

Karamanlis also visited a pavilion set up by the fire brigade and
police, while outside that of the Thessaloniki prefecture he was met by
boys and girls dressed in traditional costume dancing Pontian dances.

PM visits ANA-MPA pavilion

During his tour of TIF, the prime minister also stopped at the pavilion
of the ANA-MPA, where the ANA-MPA General Director George Tambakopoulos
showed him the agency's website on the Internet, the news programme
broadcast by the agency on the Internet and a small broadcasting
studio.

Karamanlis was accompanied by Minister of State Theodoros Roussopoulos,
who is responsible for press issues, and the head of the prime
minister's press office Giannis Andrianos.

After visiting the TIF-HELEXPO's administration and exhibition
premises, the premier will address representatives of producer classes
at the Vellidio Convention Centre in the evening.

The prime minister's visit to Thessaloniki will be concluded at noon on
Sunday with the customary press conference at the same venue.